Anshelle Tucker, D22

School: School of Dental Medicine 

Degree: Doctor of Dental Medicine 

Home: Where the heart is, and my heart is in Las Vegas, Nevada.  

What’s your superpower? 

The gift of laughter. I’ve learned that if you can make somebody laugh, you can make them listen… you can help them open up their thinking. When my friends and my patients start relaxing and relating to me, it becomes much easier to give advice or recommend a treatment plan. There’s a feeling of trust there. Laughter makes things feel silly and genuine, and it creates possibilities for connection.  

What’s one thing you learned at Tufts you’ll take with you on your dental career? 

The importance of diversity. I want to work to maintain diversity in any practice I eventually have. It’s likely that I’ll have a diverse patient population, and I want to make sure all my patients feel represented and that they have someone they can relate to, someone who can communicate effectively with them. Also, I want to learn from others’ perspectives. For me, that’s been one of the most beautiful things about the Tufts experience; it’s such a wonderfully diverse place, and you can learn so much from your classmates and others on campus. 

Any particularly valuable experiences outside the classroom?  

I started my own cosmetics company! It’s called Reen Remedy, and it focuses on vegan, all-natural lip balms, lip glosses, lipsticks, and body butters. It was my studies and my work in dentistry that inspired the idea. I realized that I’m devoted to taking care of the insides of people’s mouths—but what about the outsides? What’s the point of taking care of the inside if you’re putting toxic substances on the outside? As a healthcare provider, I feel that it’s unacceptable not to think deeply about product ingredients. Plus, I truly enjoy making the products, even if doing so is a big undertaking while I’m still in dental school. Also, running my own business has given me the means to support nonprofit organizations that I believe in. I’ve been able to contribute to relief efforts in Uganda and to donate a portion of my monthly proceeds to a scholarship foundation for prospective students who need financial support to apply for dental school and to make their way through school once they’re accepted. Being able to give back in that way is important to me, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to run that business while also pursuing a career in a field that I love.  

"From my time at One Kneeland Street, I will always remember..." 

The support of my classmates. We’ve come together in a really special way during challenging times, and I love how we've been there for each other. There’s a lot of mutual support and respect among us. 

This profile originally appeared as part of the series “Profiles in Inspiration: Commencement 2022 Spotlights."

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